Playing With Pretzel Rods!

Classic procrastinator that I am, I spent some time this week making Christmas treats....four days away from Christmas. The good news, is that very little about these treats say "Christmas", so they can really be enjoyed any time of the year. So...this year, we have Pretzel Rods, Mocha Almond Biscotti, and Toffee Pecan Bites. Once all of these are done, I get to wrap them up to distribute!

I did the Pretzel Rods and Toffee Pecan Bites over the past couple of evenings. Two kinds of pretzel rods - and both are SO EASY to make, perfect to get kids to help with! The first is Kitchen Sink Pretzel Rods - you really could say that they have everything but the kitchen sink in them - and is my token "salt" element in this dessert. Those who know me well, know that my taste preference is salty over sweet ten times over, so pretzels work really well here :)
The second kind is Cranberry Pistachio Pretzel Rods - the red and green color are perfect for Christmas.

So here you go:

Kitchen Sink Pretzel Rods

You will need:
2 cups caramels
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup mini butterscotch chips
1 cup toffee bits
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
14 pretzel rods, cut in half with a very sharp knife

Mix the mini chocolate chips, toffee bits, and chopped walnuts in a large shallow dish and set aside. Melt caramels over very low heat. Dip the cut end of the pretzel rods into the caramel, and coat about two-thirds of the way down. Then, roll them in the nut mixture and set on baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Stick the baking sheet in the refrigerator for about an hour, or until set. Enjoy!

Cranberry Pistachio Pretzel Rods

You will need:

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pistachios

1 cup dried cranberries, chopped

10 pretzel rods, cut in half with a very sharp knife

Mix the chopped pistachios and cranberries in a large shallow dish and set aside. Melt white chocolate chips over very low heat. Dip the cut end of the pretzel rods into the white chocolate, and coat about two-thirds of the way down. Then, roll them in the cranberry mixture and set on baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Stick the baking sheet in the refrigerator for about an hour, or until set. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed these two. You can look for the Mocha Almond Biscotti and Toffee Pecan Bites recipes later this week.